Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi

16 reviews

passionyoungwrites's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

“What is love if not a shield thrown up around you when you are too injured to throw it up yourself?” 

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This memoir is written in letters. Mostly to others, but also written to themselves. They spoke on every area of their life. From family past, identity - both gender and body, suicidal ideations, self - acceptance, romantic relationships, friendships, their home life, and even the ups and downs of following purpose to include their journey in the publishing world.

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The author uses this work to explain some of the happenings in their first work, Freshwater, and how it made it into the world. Though it isn’t in a traditional format, it is definitely a great work that helps to shape and mold an image of who Akwaeke is and how they view and shape the world around them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt

sophieherr's review against another edition

reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

mscalls's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.5

Powerful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Medical content, Grief, and Suicide attempt

ktkeps's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

I can’t do the suicidal ideation right now. I gotta protect my peace. I might come back to this eventually. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Medical content, and Suicide attempt

peachmoni's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Sexism, Violence, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Racism

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

5.0

 
Dear Senthuran was a challenging read - and I mean that in the best possible way. One of the things I love about reading is that it lets me walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. In this case it went so much further since the author experiences and perceives life in a way that is totally different to me. It’s not just their experiences that are different but their entire reality. It was a real challenge to my world view but one I gladly accepted and one which was richly rewarded. I loved seeing this strong spirit overcome challenges and adversity - on their terms. Through hard work, determination and staying true to their reality they achieved so much. The sections on buying a house and making it a home were particularly poignant. Glimpses into the publication of Freshwater, the publicity surrounding it and their subsequent career moves were very insightful - and telling of much that is wrong with the publishing world. I felt incredibly blessed by the openness with which they shared their health struggles and also their trans journey, the tenacity with which they pursued the body that fitted their reality, and the obstacles the medical system put in their way. The writing blew me away both in its power, the commanding way it demanded attention, and also it’s vulnerability as they laid bare their struggles and the toll living their reality had taken. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

hogsandwich's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.5

Theyre definitely a genius. Theyre also, I suspect, very difficult to be around.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Self harm

dre721's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, and Dysphoria

laurenleigh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

4.5

This memoir by Awaeke Emezi is written in letters, as they explore their gender identity, their romantic and sexual partnerships, their  life as an author, and their multiplicity. The epistolary format invites the reader into an intimate space, at times voyeuristic when Emezi gets into some intense detail. Some of these details, mainly relating to suicide and gore, were hard for me to read. I am a strict completionist, but even I had to give up on the titular “Dear Senthuran” letter, which is also rightly titled “Gore.” But I understand, at least to some degree, why it’s important for Emezi to push boundaries. Their life, their embodiment in human form, and in turn, their writing, is all so raw. It’s bursting at the seams with life and intensity. I highly recommend their debut novel, Freshwater, and I especially suggest reading that before this memoir, so you have an understanding of Emezi’s multiplicity and Igbo ontology. It’s all so fascinating to me, and their work is like nothing else I’ve ever read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, and Medical content

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Fire/Fire injury

translove's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Medical content, and Outing